As If You're Here has a sunny, surging drive-time glint to it too, but a little too much of Romanticize... is all clinical chill and no thrill. [May 2026, p.103]

It's not as immediately brilliant as its predecessor, but still possessing some fine moments. [May 2026, p.101]

This is over-produced and underachieving, [May 2026, p.103]

There are flashes of their old brilliance. [May 2026, p.101]

This fine album is further evidence of the innovative artistry of contemporary folk-related performers. [May 2026, p.101]

Butler's increasingly woodsy timbre serves People Move On nicely. It's not as stirring, with Butler's intimate tilt at post-Suede liberation anthem Not Alone losing the original's euphoric flush, though the trio's euphonious harmonies prove reliable - if occasionally drowsy - elsewhere. [Apr 2026, p.105]

There are numerous examples of predictable usual suspects (the fuzzy goth of The Cure's Primary, a trippy twist on The Cramps' Goo Goo Muck), but deeper riches are found in what, on the surface, might be seen as curveball choices. [Apr 2026, p.105]

A woozy, jazzy soundscape. [Apr 2026, p.98]

While the sharp electric riffs pair neatly with the existential themes of the 26-year-old's lyrics on Agony Freak, its sounds are a little generic in the realm of contemporary indie-rock. Jordan does much better with the warm, Sundays-inspired jangle chords in Tractor Beam and my Maker, the album's high points. [Apr 2026, p.109]

This is a reasonably entertaining album. [Apr 2026, p.106]

It feels almost improvised half the time, but there's a quiet, escalating intrigue to their murmurings. [Mar 2026, p.105]

Sometimes predictably frustrating, sometimes pleasingly fresh, Make-up Is A Lie is a reminder that Morrissey probably couldn’t stop at this stage of the game, much less change. [Mar 2026, p.100]

It's the polar opposite of Moby's early hardcore punk and dancefloor output, so go elsewhere if that's your preference. [Mar 2026, p.104]

The music is at its most interesting when it veers off at a tangent - the snappy organ fuelled Social Climbing Scene and the loping gait of the title track. [Mar 2026, p.104]

They whack the volume up to 11 million, and warp familiar songs with a blend of manic posturing and slick postering. [Mar 2026, p.105]

These are assured, solid songs by very good musicians, albeit lacking a killer punch or any wild, barrier-pushing inspiration. [Feb 2025, p.102]

Strange Life makes for a very agreeable comeback. [Feb 2026, p.101]

All in All, a fond if sometimes overly polite farewell. [Jan 2026, p.101]

Smith's career detour feels like a rather wan aside from a singer spread somewhat thin. [Christmas 2025, p.135]

Miran deep dives into ambient territory. [Feb 2026, p.102]

The ideas - hardly in short supply - fail to crystallise in the way they did on recent high-water marks Aulos (2000) and Multiversum (2002). [Feb 2026, p.103]

An endearing compendium of styles, if perhaps lacking any real headline-grabbing tunes. [Feb 2026, p,101]

It's an energetic affair, a barrelling collision of Britpop and electro, lots of distorted vocals, the sort of thing you don't hear so much anymore. [Feb 2026, p.101]

A recording half the length would have been more pleasurably effective. [Jan 2026, p.103]

They unleash 12 songs driven by earnest vocals, fuzz-tinged riffs and steady grooves. If there's a quibble, Selling A Vibe is often cohesive to the point of being monotonous. [Jan 2026, p.101]

Does a fine job of transmitting the spit and fury of their own shows, even o the studio setting. [Jan 2026, p.101]

Westerman has crafted a collection of songs steeped in nostalgia and simplicity. [Jan 2026, p.103]

There’s a taut, garage-like sensibility to the arrangements, a discipline lacking from the originals, in a satisfying, worthwhile salvage expedition. [Jan 2026, p.101]

The voice is perhaps a little too polite in places, but lets loose in fine testifying form on the closing Heart Of Mine. [Christmas 2025, p.133]

The music is as gauzy as sugar-spun candy floss. .... The downside of this approach is Liquorice largely lacks the distinctive moments of past Hatchie albums. [Christmas 2025, p.133]

Tugs gently but effectively at every heart string. [Christmas 2025, p.133]

While heavier moments such as the scuzzy, stoner-grunge Heaven's Breath and the Nick Cave-esque gothic folk epic The Ox Driver's Song shine, the more straightforward folk/country tunes are pleasant but not distinctive enough to be memorable. [Christmas 2025, p.132]

Elements of it are among the boldest, most enjoyable experiments of his career. .... There are clunkers too. [Christmas 2025, p.132]

A pretty good, not great, pop record. [Christmas 2025, p.132]

A little more of Final Girl's filmic atmospherics might have added life and range, but when Drank The Sap hits its stride, Witch Fever max the catharsis with satisfying force. [Dec 2025, p.103]

A fun, compelling caricature of 80s heavy rock which will be enjoyed by those whose favourite version of Iron Maiden is when they really go overboard. [Dec 2025, p.101]

Opening track Woman IS The N***** Of The World has been quietly omitted, which will probably enrage Lennon completists, surely the set's biggest buyers. [Dec 2025, p.91]

At times, Katie Ball's high-pitched vocals bring a somewhat incongruous phantasmagorical element. But they bring the tunes, too. [Dec 2025, p.101]

This 14th offering is less reunion comeback, more business as usual. It's an album which follows a similar blueprint to most of their others. [Dec 2025, p.101]

Although Holy Visions teeters on the wrong edge of mope-rock melodrama, it's an exception; otherwise, Silver Bleeds The Black Sun is a black-clad, clove-smoking triumph. [Dec 2025, p.100]

The ghost Nation majors in slow-burn melodies that soar serenely, with nothing edging excessively over the seven-minute mark and the band maintaining a majestically unhurried pace. [Dec 2025, p.100]

The four-piece have expanded their sound with synth loops and a cleaner production. [Dec 2025, p.100]

There are elements of grunge on Deep End and curtain-raising single, albeit with a keen ear for melody that suggests Dando's pop sensibilities are as strong as ever. [Nov 2025, p.104]

Nobody particularly wants the descriptor "mature" to be slapped on their work, but it applies perfectly here. [Nov 2025, p.102]

Led by Paul Janeway's dramatic vocals, the Birmingham band's material is more hook-laden, partly due to their collaboration with Eg White. [Nov 2025, p.105]

It's not that the music is especially innovative, but songs such as Darkness Always Wins and Like A Woman Can sound highly compelling, thanks in part to frontwoman Lzzy (sic) Hale's commanding presence. [Nov 2025, p.96]

John Congleton's production energises the festival-ready ructions of Cowards Around, though the indifferent arrangements of Quiet Life and Nothing Better struggle to distinguish Shame's snapshots of suburban frustration. [Oct 2025, p.133]

Several songs misunderstood Molina's stripped-down approach as frailty, which leads to some rough and rickety performances, but overall, I Will Swim To You is a more than solid salute. [Nov 2025, p.98]

Conceptually distinctive album. [Nov 2025, p.103]

It's clear that the lines so easily drawn between this and the Fleetwood Mac epics to come give this not only a familiarity but a slightly spurious contemporary feel. [Nov 2025, p.90]

This is intelligent easy listening in a band setting. [Oct 2025, p.132]

Byrne isn’t on fire here: while the songs do sometimes deal with biggish issues with elan, the music’s just too merry, too jovial. Of course, that contrast is deliberate, but – perhaps it’s the times we live in – it feels pat in context, even glib. [Oct 2025, p.132]

It's a metaphor for absence, loneliness and disconnection, which Harding explores via eleven songs whose retro soul feel is enhanced by Steve Hackman's lavishly elegant string arrangements. [Oct 2025, p.131]

The overarching sentiment of the album - that development isn't linear, and healing is often cyclical. [Oct 2025, p.130]

The Beaches get their points across by grafting moody alt-rock textures - looking at you, The Smiths-esque Dirty Laundry and Cure-reminiscent Sorry For Your Loss - with explosive chorus hooks. [Oct 2025, p.130]

As with previous albums, the musicianship is impeccable, but Cooper's vocals often fell too polite, the guitars bloodless. [Sep 2025, p.105]

A little more variety in tone would allow the album's heavier tracks to hit harder, but if it's high-quality heavy rock you're after, Beth has delivered it consistently. [Sep 2025, p.103]

The melodies may be a little more complex, but only rarely does Guitar sound as beguiling as 2023's Five Easy Hot Dogs. [Sep 2025, p.103]

These reinventions work best when Campbell's invention pushes Allison's gorgeous voice to the fore. [Sep 2025, p.103]

While the subject matter is never less than serious, Carving The Stone can be commended for its boldness in addressing it without losing sensitivity, conveyed through Balfe's skillful lyricism. [Sep 2025, p.103]

A worthy addition to the Kuti legacy. [Sep 2025, p.104]

Although a couple songs don't fully capture Neale's compositional skills, the closing track There From Here is a tremendous highlight. [Sep 2025, p.105]

While the album (understandably) feels fragile in spots - Furman's falsetto vocals in particular exude sensitivity - Goodbye Small head bolsters its serious subject matter with sturdy, gorgeous musical statements. [Aug 2025, p.103]

Focusing at times on loss and life's cruelty, the tone is often sombre though always dignified. [Aug 2025, p.103]

Musically, it is akin to a stack of chairs balanced precariously on a tightrope. [Aug 2025, p.105]

The ballads are less effective at keeping Thomson's troubles on track, with six-minute closer Go All The Way lacking a hook to justify its dramatics. But it's easy to root for a band plainly so committed to aiming for grandeur. [Jul 2025, p.103]

Where they step into new territory is with Skin's restrained vocals and more electronic elements: whether you enjoy the ethereal synth of Shame and This Is Not Your Life will depend on your taste for stripped down beats and dark textures. [Jul 2025, p.105]

Everything is dispatched in pristine FM rock production that could use a little more light and shade. [Jul 2025, p.104]

[The] third album's title is a funfair metaphor for life - sometimes scary, sometimes cathartic. The record stands firm in between. [Jul 2025, p.103]

Big names bookend this collection, courtesy of Johnny Cash's stately narrative on Johnny 99 and Steve Earle's pleading State Trooper (both songs originating from Bruce's Nebraska album), but the remaining 18 tracks are a mixed bunch. [Jul 2025, p.99]

The mid-tempo results and on-the-nose lyrics can wear thin over 15 tracks, but Haim's melodic ease provides fitful featherweight uplift. [Jul 2025, p.104]

Where Rubin as co-producer, threaded some cohesion through the playful instrumental idiosyncrasies of Yiung and his long-running cohorts, Talkin To The Trees is, like the idea of a "chrome heart" itself, an uneasy hybrid. [Jul 2025, p.104]

These 10 tracks will undoubtedly please longterm fans, even if there's little here that doesn't revisit already well-trodden ground. [Jun 2025, p.103]

While the lyrics are typically sharp, reflecting righteously on "Systemic Extortion", the parlous state of truth and more, the music unspools along almost cosily familiar tracks. [Jun 2025, p.105]

There's delicacy, not least on the softly breathless title track, but sometimes much more... Witch, with thumping drumbeat, turns things up a notch, and by the time we get to Rats we have full-blown rock. [Jun 2025, p.105]

It becomes quickly apparent that Weirdo is a more personal record - gut-punchingly so, at times - but for all the pain that inspired it, it feels like a celebration too. [Jun 2025, p.105]

Returning to their core of stupid fun. [Jun 2025, p.105]

The album presents a dynamic artistry, full of ideas and emotional power. [Jun 2025, p.105]

Iris Silver Mist gently wafts through the metal space of a listener. [Jun 2025, p.103]

Theis ruminative reminder that at their core they're equal parts inspired by Cohen and Bowie is a shrewd, often stirring step. [Jun 2025, p.103]

These are new songs sung in a familiar voice. [May 2025, p.103]

Theirs is a sometimes hazy, sometimes pristine blend of guitars and harmonies which respects the succour of story-telling and implies empowerment without heavy-handedness. [May 2025, p.105]

The apple doesn't fall far, as they say, and a 62-year-old Femi is still raging against the system on Journey Through Life. [Apr 2025, p.102]

A bit more variation to the glistening soundscapes would have been welcome, as each track sounds rather like the others, but the core sound is a sweet one. [May 2025, p.103]

Is often highly demanding yet repays the listener's commitment, revealing some fascinating, imaginative ideas. [May 2025, p.105]

Keery frequently channels synth-rockers The Cars (Link finds Keery doing his best Ben Orr impression, while Delete Ya is reminiscent of Ric Ocasek); ELO's crisp pop (Charlie's Garden); and Cake-meets-OK Go jauntiness (standout Basic Being Basic). [May 2025, p.103]

The record works best at its most direct and personal. [May 2025, p.103]

A Study Of Losses is ultimately a pleasant (if sometimes monotonous) release. [May 2025, p.103]

Often embraces sophisticated dance-pop, led by the disco-kissed single Baby and the introspective, percolating Spirit. [Feb 2025, p.103]

Ultimately, it's an well-executed update on his storied history. [Apr 2025, p.102]

A homespun but thoughtfully energetic package which recreates the intimacy of its creation. [Mar 2025, p.104]

There's a freaky, hippy-ish feel. [Apr 2025, p.101]

Certain tracks are closer to the power ballad moments of Skunk Anansie. Spellling's vocal skills remain impressive as ever. [Apr 2025, p.103]

He was at Slowhand's side for MTV Unplugged, and this Vinyl/download release has very much the same vibe. [Apr 2025, p.102]

Night Life is enigmatic, entertaining "dark" rock which will thrill those too young to be familiar with the work of Psychedelic Furs, Sisters of Mercy or Depeche Mode. [Apr 2025, p.102]

A record built around contemplations on healing and taking on your demons isn't always a soothing ride, though - at times the quirky freak folk elements come to the fore, somewhat shaking up the ground for meditation. Still, A Blade Because A Blade Is Whole is a bold and successful attempt to express oneself as he is. [Apr 2025, p.102]

This isn't quite up there with his very best efforts, but it nevertheless includes some typically excellent (and poignant) reflections on human existence. [Apr 2025, p.102]

It's most intriguing when Lennox deviates from catchy pop nuggets. [Apr 2025, p.103]